MONO MONDAY - COMFORT ZONE

For some reason, I felt quite “down” this morning but not sure why - can only think that it must be after yesterday and thinking about all the young men who were killed in the First and Second World Wars.

Not one to sit and mope, I decided that I would get out into the garden, even though I was still wearing my pink robe, to take some photographs, using my newish Canon camera because I’m still not entirely happy with it.  I can’t make up my mind whether it’s because the viewfinder is not to my liking or whether I am just not cut out to be a DSLR user, fiddling about with settings etc, especially as wearing glasses makes it hard to see them in the viewfinder.  Before you ask, I have adjusted the diopter, but it’s difficult when you are very short-sighted and need glasses to see anything that is more than a foot away!

Anyway, I went back to my “comfort zone” - the theme for today - and to my old Canon SX50 Bridge camera and must admit, I felt much more at home using that - is that so bad?

I had seen a little robin in the tree above me, but it was only when Mr. HCB started digging out some of the flower border that it came down and was waiting patiently for him to turn over the soil so that it could grab any worms, which it did on numerous occasions.  Interestingly, Mr. HCB said he couldn’t see the worms, so the robin obviously has better eye sight than him!  So here is the little robin in mono, sitting on the edge of the bucket, waiting for the chance to find a worm.  I have put the original in as an extra - which I must say, I do prefer - after all, its red breast is its distinguishing feature.

We then sat in the garden to have our coffee because the sun had come out by this time and I was delighted to receive an email from a lady in Australia.  Last night, when I was going through all the photographs I had taken of the various headstones at Yatesbury, I discovered that two brothers had the same headstone - Alfred Stanley Hunt, was killed at Yatesbury in August 1917, aged 23, and his brother, George Bruce Fletcher Hunt, was killed in action and buried in France in 1916 aged 19.  

I decided to look them up on Ancestry, as I have a subscription and found that a lady in Australia had both these young men in her Family Tree, so I sent her a quick email to ask if she would like a copy of the photograph I had taken of the headstone.  To my delight, she responded and told me that they were second cousins of her grandmother, so second cousins twice removed of hers, and she would love to see the photograph of their headstone.  

She also included an article relating to the death of Stanley, as he was known.  “He was educated at Newington College, in Sydney, Australia, leaving there with his younger brother, Bruce, in 1915 firstly to serve in Egypt and then in France.  After serving in the front trenches in France, Lieutenant Hunt came to England in November 1916 and on 10th November he entered the Denham Flying School and was later transferred to Oxford, where he was granted a commission in the Royal Flying Corps.”

According to the newspaper article, “On 20th August 1917, while a new battle formation was being carried out at Yatesbury Camp, two machines collided and one, which was struck on the side the engine of the other, crashed to the ground, resulting in the death of the pilot, Lieutenant Alfred Stanley Hunt and Sergeant Charles Findlay.  The pilot of the other machine had a remarkable escape - the propeller was broken, but the pilot managed to land in safety.”

I have put a copy of the inscription on the headstone in as another extra and will email this to the lady in Australia.  These are the times when technology is working at its best!

I found many quotes about “comfort zones” - often when I am looking for a quote, it’s one that jumps out and hits me, full on - this one did today:

“As you move outside of your comfort zone, 
     what was once the unknown 
          and frightening 
               becomes your new normal.”
Robin S. Sharma